Thursday, November 15, 2012

Turkey Talk: A Basting Recipe

We all know we need to baste a turkey while it cooks so it won't dry out, but I wanted something a little more than just water or broth or pan juices. I did a simple internet search for turkey basting and found a recipe from Martha that I use every year. The ingredients are simple and flavorful...butter and white wine!

Start by melting 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (3 sticks) in a large pot. Add 1 bottle dry white wine and stir. Martha's recipe says to immerse a large 17-inch 4-layer piece of cheesecloth in the butter wine mixture. The point of this is to place over the turkey to prevent it from browning too quickly. I did this the first time I followed this recipe. Maybe I didn't baste often enough, but I found that the cheesecloth browned and dried and started to stick to the turkey. It didn't look too pretty, but I was able to pull it all off and avoid disaster!

I'm just warning you.

You can try it.

YOU might have better luck.

I didn't want my family picking threads out of their turkey. Kinda ruins the dinner! It's like eating a scrumptious fish dish (a rythme!) and getting a tiny bone. That's it for me. I won't go back. It's over. I want to avoid that for my family.

Tip: If the turkey starts to brown too fast, make a tent with foil and place over turkey. Wrapping the ends of the legs in foil before cooking will keep the legs from getting too brown also.

Back to the turkey. After you have removed the turkey from the brine and patted it dry with paper towels inside and out, prepare your turkey as usual. Place turkey breast side up on a rack in roasting pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper and Bell's Poultry Seasoning.

This is the seasoning that my grandmother and my mother used. Nothing else would do. It HAD to be Bell's.

I only do what my mother tells me. Just seeing this box makes me think of them.

Once PROPERLY seasoned, use the butter/white wine combo to baste the turkey every 30 minutes. Oh and once the turkey juices mix in with the basting mixture in the pan, use that. It will be full of flavor...and butter...and wine. It's easy and delicious. You will have a perfectly brown and moist Thanksgiving turkey. With no built-in floss!